CJI leaves review of collegium method to successor

New Delhi, May 9: Undettered by the criticism by the Supreme Court collegium of being non-transparent in appointing judges, Chief Justice of India (CJI) KG Balakrishnan, is holding on to its earlier stand that it needs to review the earlier judgments of the apex court, a newspaper reported.

The CJI said that the collegium method which has evolved out of two judgments of the apex court in 1993 and then in 1998 by a presidential reference, has to be reviewed before making any changes.

"We only follow the procedure from these judgments. If the Centre wants to change the system, it must seek review of the judgments, whether on its own or through some other method," the CJI was quoted as saying in the newpaper report.

He added that not following the procedure would lead to a violation of the directions given in these judgments.

The CJI said that it would let his successor decide on the suggestion given by the Center, seeking changes in Memorandum of Procedure of appointment of judges inorder to allow the executive to have a greater say in the appointments and to ensure more transparency.

He said that the Supreme Court were over-burdened.

“We have to look for some changes in the system, as judges are overburdened. This year, the number of cases filed in the Supreme Court is expected to touch 84,000. Though the disposal rate is correspondingly high, it cannot be continued for a long time. The present system could be continued for another 10 years, and thereafter we must look for some change in the system."

Asked to comment on honor killings, he said that it would be for the Parliament to decide whether to come out with legislation or not.

OneIndia News